The Crulest Game I've Ever Played
by HarryPotterAddict621
Summary: 15 year old Saffron and her best friend Olive are picked to compete in the 50th Quarter Quell Hunger Games- the form an alliance, but only one of them can survive.


_Hi Guys! This is my first Hunger Games Fanfiction! It's based on the 50__th__ Quarter Quell, and I know Haymitch won it in the books, but here's my version! Enjoy! All rights go to Suzanne Collins and I do not own any of the Hunger Games characters._

_Chapter 1_

Everything was deadly quiet. I crawled forward on the branch. I saw the rabbit there, nose twitching, big ears swivelling. It hadn't noticed me. I gently shifted my balance on the branch, so I was in a crouched position. I raised my hand holding the knife, brought it back to shoulder height, and pointed the blade at the rabbit's head, slowly drawing my arm back. In a move that lasted seconds, I launched the knife, and took down the rabbit. I swung down the tree, from branch to branch, until I reached the floor, where I landed nimbly on my feet. The knife had gone through the rabbit's neck. It would have been killed instantly, would have felt no pain. I removed the knife from the rabbit's neck picked it up and shoved the rabbit in a small sack in which I had brought with me, took my spear, which had been leaning up against a tree, and headed towards a small stream in the woods. I peered into the water, studying the current, trying to see if the conditions were right for fishing, or if I was just wasting my time. I was in luck. The flow was relatively slow, and there were lots of fish darting about. I slowly stood up, took my spear in both hands and pointed it down into the water. I made sure my shadow pointed behind me so I wouldn't scare the fish away. A large fish- or a large fish for the stream, anyway- swam into view. I struck it through the middle with the spear, frightening all the other fish away- but I still had my best kill in months.

I headed back to District 12, my home. The Hunger Games reaping was tomorrow, and, being fifteen, taken the tessere several times, and the worst thing, four tributes being chosen from each district this year, meant that It was likely that I would be chosen as a tribute. I'd known this for a while, since the victory tour, when it had been announced that for the Quarter Quell, two boys and two girls would be chosen from each district, I'd decided a little practice couldn't hurt. I'd started hunting properly, wanting to be able to use at least one weapon before the reaping, and I'd wanted to be able to use it well. I'd hunted before, but I'd never taken it as seriously- just for food, not for a secondary survival skill.

I looked at the sky. It was turning orange and red. I started to walk back towards the fence. I had only gone a few paces when I heard the wolf howl. I froze, slowly turning around, and listened again. I heard a growl. It was coming closer. I sprinted to the nearest tree, scaling the branches, climbing higher and higher, and then crawling to the edge of a strong branch to peer down. I saw the big grey wolf slide out from the bushes. It sniffed the air, and began pacing around the bottom of my tree, pawing at it, trying to climb into the tree. It spotted me, and it didn't stop looking at me as it began clawing at the tree more desperately. I gasped. How was I going to get away? It wasn't going to give up! I could kill it, but I didn't know how many more there'd be- where was the rest of its pack? I still had my saw clenched in my hand, along with my knife. I aimed with the spear, and threw it, and hit the wolf squarely through the throat. I examined it from my height for any signs of life, but I could see none. I carefully climbed down, but slipped a few times- climbing wasn't my greatest skill, but I was unusually small and light, so I was light enough to carefully scale the branches- I had never fallen more than a few feet, but I never felt safe up in the trees.

When I got down to the ground, I listened carefully to the sounds around me, trying to detect any other wolfish sounds. I heard none. I looked at the wolf carcass, and wondered what I should do with it. After a few seconds thought, I got out my knife and began to cut strips of the meat off, listening every few minutes for the sound of approaching predators as the sun sank lower in the sky.

When I was finally done, meat and fur in the small sack I had brought, I ran off, trying to be as quick as possible. I was back to the fence in a few minutes, and I climbed the tree that had a branch that hung just over the electric fence, not so high that I would hurt myself when I fell. I chucked the bag to the floor, and jumped after it, landing nimbly on my feet like a cat. I sprinted to my house with my bag on my back, which was only a hundred meters from the woods. I walked in, and saw my Dad sitting on the stool by the fireplace, with a pot of water boiling over it. He smiled at me when I walked in and held his arms out for a hug. I dropped my bag and embraced him. Apart from my eighteen year old sister, who I was closest to, he was all I had. My mother had died a few years after I was born. I was never sad about it; I could barely remember her, let alone feel sad about not having her. How could you miss someone you never met?

I dropped the meat in the pan, and put the rest and the rabbit in a container, and put it in a cupboard that was always cool. I chopped up some bread my sister had made from her tesserae grain, and sprinkled some mint leaves over the top. When the meat was done, I sliced it up and gave everyone the largest portion we'd had in weeks. After dinner, my sister – Kayla- and I washed the fur thoroughly, and began to sew it into a soft blanket. It would only be big enough for one bed, but I knew my father would insist me and Kayla had it for our bed. When we'd finished, I carried it upstairs to lay it on my bed. A few moments later, I heard my father call ' Saffron!' I ran downstairs, and he pointed to two small parcels on the table, one with my name, and one with Kayla written on it. I waited for Kayla, who appeared out of the kitchen to sit down, and then we each took our parcel in our hands. They were small enough to hold easily in our palms, and they were wrapped in simple brown paper. I shook it, trying to work out what is was, while Kayla ripped hers open immediately. Kayla carefully picked up a small bracelet with a delicate swirling pattern encased in a circle. It was beautiful, even though it was just string and wood; it was the best of any jewellery around here. I opened mine, and found a necklace, but instead of a swirling pattern, I found a cat charm hanging off the end. Cats were my favourite animal. I gasped and lifted it higher, examining every detail in the little outline. All choked up, I mumbled 'Thank you dad.' He smiled and patted me on the shoulder, and then did the same to Kayla, who had just given an equally quiet thanks.

We headed up to bed after giving Dad one last thank-you hug, and we curled up underneath our furry blanket. I fell asleep quickly, the cat necklace around my neck. I knew why Dad had given it to me; in case I went into the arena, so I would remember home, and it was for the same reason Kayla got the swirly bracelet.

When I woke up the next morning, I got up and had a wash, and went to change into my reaping clothes. They were a simple black knee length dress, and a pair of black shoes. I then went and made us a breakfast out of the remaining meat and bread. After a few minutes, I was joined by my father and Kayla, who were also in their good clothes. We ate in silence, and all too soon, it was time to head off to the reaping.

I stood in the 15-year-old section, and found myself next to my best friend, Olive. We held hands, gripping each other quietly. Our district representative, Maddie Ligley came out to do the reaping. I gripped Olive's hand even tighter. The first girl's name was called out.

"Olive Hardy!" I gasped in horror, and I felt Olive's hand slip away from mine as she slowly made her way onto the stage. Maddie called the second girl's name out.

"Saffron Warrie!" My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. Not only was I in the Hunger Games, I would be fighting my best friend in the whole world, fighting to kill. It took all my strength not to faint.


End file.
